Steel tempered and Tigers tamed as Phoenix stay top

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Manchester Phoenix comfortably beat battling Sheffield Steeldogs 4-2 on Saturday evening to cement their position as number one in the English Premier League.

And with an 8-2 away win at Telford on Sunday combined with a 4-2 defeat for Guildford Flames who are chasing them for top spot, Phoenix were able to put clear daylight between themselves and the chasing pack, and set up a mouth-watering double-header against Guildford next weekend.

Goals from Marcus Kristofferson, sniper Curtis Huppe, James Archer and Ben Wood saw them secure their tenth win of the season – as did the assured netminding of Adam Summerfield.

The 20-year-old, deputising for the injured Steve Fone, turned aside 12 of 14 shots in a competent performance that will do the Cumbrian no end of good.

But if it wasn't for a stellar performance by Ben Bowns in the Steeldogs' goal, the scoreline would have been deservedly a lot wider than the eventual result.

He faced 48 shots in a one sided contest and there's no doubt Tony Hand will be scratching his head at how his charges didn't cement their dominance more.

It took Manchester inside of five minutes to open their account – just moments after Summerfield had made a crucial stop early doors.

The evergreen Hand won the puck in the neutral zone and with Sheffield on a line change, found himself three on none with Aaron Strawson trying to get off the bench to close down his options.

The only thing Phoenix' player-coach had to do was choose the right option and with Kristofferson to his left and Archer to his right, he opted for the former who fired the puck low past Bowns.

But four minutes later Sheffield replied as Edgar Bebris undid the Phoenix defence with a nice deke.

The excellent Tom Duggan latched on to a Ben Wood pass to almost put his side ahead a minute later, but as Steven Wallace and Ben Morgan found in the moments that followed, Bowns was in the mood. Cue Hand once more.

He combined with Ladislav Harabin on 14:32 to give Curtis Huppe the chance to shoot low – and he made no mistake. The second period saw Kristofferson head to the bin for 2+10 for Checking From Behind, disrupting Phoenix momentum from within the first minute.

And although they killed the resultant powerplay, they were powerless to stop Andrew Hirst firing high past Summerfield on 24:49 to make it all square.

Phoenix huffed and puffed to find the go-ahead goal but their possessional dominance and territorial advantage was always going to pay off at some point.

Huppe was denied in the 26th minute but Archer made no mistake when Duggan fed him sweetly at 28:34. Archer had the chance to make it 4-2 four minutes later, but was hauled down on the way to goal by Lee Haywood – referee Emmerson rightly calling a penalty shot.

But Bowns once again had other ideas, stopping the former Elite League star's low shot to maintain the status quo.

The third period had Phoenix on two Powerplay opportunities early doors, but they couldn't find the killer touch even with Hand icing for 3 minutes 40 seconds during the four-minute man advantage.

Yet, one more goal was always coming and with Manchester's third line bringing the crowd to its feet with its work rate, Ben Wood notched his second of the season to great delight from his teammates.

Duggan and James Neil had battled around the net but been denied by Bown's pads before Wood – still showing some signs of discomfort after last weekend's dislocated shoulder – finished off a rebound.

That effectively sealed the tie but there was still time for Bowns to continue his superb evening with saves from Duggan and Pavel Gomenyuk.

Phoenix will have harder nights at the Ice Dome in the weeks to come, but it was a job well done with news coming in that Guildford had edged a 7-6 win in Basingstoke to keep up the pressure at the top.

After the game Tony Hand admitted his side were comfortable winners but still urged caution.

He said: “Things are really starting to come together now, and goals are coming from everywhere, which is the best of all worlds.

“But while next weekend is going to be huge, there is still a long way to go this season. We will not underestimate the importance of next weekend’s games, but there will still be plenty of games to play after that, and nothing will be decided.

“That said, I know everyone will be ready for a tempestuous weekend of hockey, and the atmosphere in the Dome next weekend will be electric.”

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